United Nations

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Kenya Upheaval Could Reach 'Catastrophic Levels'

As violence continues, UN boss will join predecessor in talks

(Newser) - Kenya's political turmoil continues to wreak havoc, and it is "threatening to escalate to catastrophic levels," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today. After the killing of another member of Raila Odinga's opposition party yesterday, the country faced renewed violence, Reuters reports. The death toll has reached 850 since...

In Kenya, Annan Denounces Violent 'Abuses'

Former UN head finds crisis 'tragic'; dozens more deaths reported

(Newser) - Kofi Annan, in Kenya to mediate a settlement to the brutal conflict rocking the country, condemned the "gross and systematic abuses of human rights"  he had seen on a tour of the country's worst flashpoints, the BBC reports. Dozens more gruesome deaths were reported today. Annan spoke of...

Former UN Boss Tackling Kenya Crisis

Kofi Annan flying in to mediate as election violence continues

(Newser) - Former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan will fly to Kenya today to try to mediate the nation's political crisis and stop the violence. He faces a difficult task. Members of President Mwai Kibaki's cabinet are hostile to mediation, and opposition leader Raila Odinga is in no mood to back down....

Gaza City Shuts Off Power Amid Claimed Fuel Shortage

Israelis say move meant to create crisis

(Newser) - Gaza City’s sole power plant has shut down due to what Palestinian officials claim are insufficient fuel supplies, the BBC reports. Israel—which provides 60% of Gaza’s electricity—closed its border last week with the Gaza Strip, preventing the import of virtually all supplies. The move followed a...

Nigerian Rebels Seek Help From Clooney

Militants offer invite after UN names him 'messenger of peace'

(Newser) - Nigeria’s top rebel group urged George Clooney to come heal their war-torn land today, the AP reports. The militants, who often pressure officials by blowing up oil pipelines, promised to work with Clooney “and other credible peace makers" to cool off fighting in Nigeria. Clooney gave no immediate...

United Nations U Seeks to Make Grade as Real College

Boss aims to turn institution into a global degree-awarding university

(Newser) - If you’ve never heard of the United Nations University, don’t feel bad. The institution, or, really, network of institutions, is more of a think tank: Spread across 13 academies around the world, it researches matters important to the global village. Now, the institution's new rector Konrad Osterwalder seeks...

151,000 Iraqis Killed, Study Says
151,000 Iraqis Killed, Study Says
Jan 9, 2008 7:47 PM CST

151,000 Iraqis Killed, Study Says

New survey touted as most reliable yet, but definite figure hard to come by

(Newser) - More than 150,000 Iraqis—about 120 a day—were killed in the first three years of the Iraqi war following the US invasion in 2003, a new study says. The estimate, from the WHO and the Iraqi government, is said to be the most scientific study yet of the...

Why Obama Is No JFK
Why Obama
Is No JFK
OPINION
Jan 8, 2008 5:10 PM CST

Why Obama Is No JFK

Comparisons fail to note fellow senator's experience on world stage

(Newser) - The election of a charismatic 43-year-old president nearly a half-century ago may indeed represent a precedent for Barack Obama's upstart candidacy, but Ted Widmer notes in Washington Monthly that JFK had something Barack can’t boast: a substantial foreign policy record. Born into world affairs, Kennedy was in the room...

Odinga Rejects Unity Rule; Kenya Health Crisis Looms

Aid chiefs sound alarm in wake of chaos

(Newser) - Opposition leader Raila Odinga today rejected President Mwai Kibaki's offer of a unity government and demanded an international mediator, AP reports. "We want a properly negotiated settlement, not a coalition government," Odinga said, warning that his party would stage more rallies, threatening a new burst of violence after...

Libyan Minister Meets Rice, Signs Pacts

Washington visit latest chapter in makeover for former pariah state

(Newser) - In the latest sign of a remarkable turnaround in relations between the countries, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today hosted Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam, who later signed agreements on science and technology. Leader Moammar Gaddafi's renunciation of terrorism and enmity with the West has opened relations, the Washington ...

US Diplomat Shot Dead in Sudan
US Diplomat Shot Dead
in Sudan
Jan 1, 2008 8:22 AM CST

US Diplomat Shot Dead in Sudan

USAID official succumbs to injuries in Khartoum

(Newser) - A US diplomat has died of injuries suffered when he was shot five times early this morning as he rode through the streets of Khartoum, the AP reports. The attack immediately killed his driver. The shooting occurred a day after a joint African Union-United Nations force took over peacekeeping duties...

Spider-Man's Mission: Save UN
Spider-Man's Mission: Save UN
Dec 27, 2007 9:17 AM CST

Spider-Man's Mission: Save UN

United Nations teams up with Marvel Comics for new publication

(Newser) - Battered by the oil-for-food scandal and accused of inaction and inefficiency, the United Nations is looking to an unusual ally for help improving its image: Spider-Man. In a novel collaboration, the international body has enlisted Marvel Comics to produce a one-off comic book that will see its cast of superheroes...

Tsunami Survivors Look Ahead
Tsunami Survivors Look Ahead
Dec 26, 2007 11:55 AM CST

Tsunami Survivors Look Ahead

Officials concerned about post-aid economy, beefing up warning systems

(Newser) - As candles are lit today in memory of the 230,000 victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Christian Science Monitor reports on the results of the $13.6 billion effort to help survivors. The aid has largely been used effectively, but now officials worry about the recovering economies...

Iran Plans 19 Nuke Plants
Iran Plans 19 Nuke Plants
Dec 24, 2007 11:47 AM CST

Iran Plans 19 Nuke Plants

Rejects calls to drop uranium enrichment

(Newser) - Iran has dismissed calls to drop uranium enrichment and plans 19 new nuclear power plants, Reuters reports. "US officials have talked of negotiations" on the condition that Iran stop the enrichment, "but we do not accept any preconditions for talks," Iran's Foreign Minister said today. The UN...

Lakotas Secede From Union
Lakotas Secede From Union
Dec 21, 2007 1:34 PM CST

Lakotas Secede From Union

Native Americans declare independence, demand international recognition

(Newser) - Some Lakota tribesman, led by veteran American Indian activist Russell Means, have declared a sovereign nation within US borders. “We are now a free country and independent of the United States,” Means told the Rapid City Journal yesterday, adding, "This is all completely legal." The group...

UN Fails to Break Kosovo Deadlock
UN Fails to
Break Kosovo Deadlock
Dec 20, 2007 9:01 AM CST

UN Fails to Break Kosovo Deadlock

Province plans to declare independence in coming weeks

(Newser) - The United Nations Security Council failed yesterday to break the deadlock in negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo, with one ambassador warning that "the status quo is unsustainable." The US and European Union are both arguing that the two parties remain irreconcilable and that further negotiations are worthless. Kosovo...

Russia Gives Iran Nuclear Fuel
Russia Gives Iran Nuclear Fuel
Dec 17, 2007 7:58 AM CST

Russia Gives Iran Nuclear Fuel

Says Tehran has promised not to develop weaponry

(Newser) - Russia delivered nuclear material to Iran yesterday, the BBC reports, ignoring Washington’s protests. Russia says it has assurances that the plutonium will only be used for the nuclear power plant in Bushehr, which is being built by a Russian company, but the US says that spent uranium could be...

Ethiopia Forces Untrained Civilians Into War

Clerks, teachers, administrators sent into action against Ogaden rebels

(Newser) - Ethiopa's overstretched army is forcing untrained civilians into the bush to fight guerrillas, the New York Times reports. Office clerks, teachers, and other white-collar workers face imprisonment or torture if they refuse to comply, but many have been killed in battle, say aid workers. “We don’t know how...

Last-Minute US Compromise Saves Bali Talks

Officials agree to reach accord in 2009—after end of Bush term

(Newser) - The Bali climate summit averted failure at the eleventh hour today when the US capitulated under sharp criticism and agreed to further talks to forge a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol in 2009 that will include the US and developing nations. The deal came after the US dropped opposition...

Gore Points Finger at US in Bali
Gore Points Finger at US in Bali
Dec 13, 2007 9:03 AM CST

Gore Points Finger at US in Bali

Nobel laureate says Bush and company stonewalling in Bali

(Newser) - Al Gore’s latest inconvenient truth: the US is stonewalling the UN climate conference. “My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here,” the Nobel laureate raged today in Bali. The US, along with Japan and several other nations, refuses to accept a specific...

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